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Diving

Home » Ecuador » Galapagos Islands Activities and Attractions » Diving

Reef fish, sea lions, sting rays, golden rays, eagle rays, morays, garden eels, turtles, marine iguanas, white tip reef sharks, hammerheads, whale sharks, whales, pelagic fish – you’ll find all this and more diving at the Galapagos Islands.

The Galapagos Islands have been voted one of the top diving spots year after yea. There are few to no places left in the world where an entire archipelago is virtually free of commercial fishing, leaving the waters left to those who want to swim and watch the action unfold in the deep, clean waters of the Pacific.

1) Diving Conditions
Galapagos Islands scuba diving isn’t usually recommended for beginners. Mid-level to advanced divers will be better off, especially in certain areas. Dive shops will advise on conditions at that time and can suggest less strenuous itineraries for beginners.

Diving conditions at the Galapagos are considered medium to hard due to the currents, depth and shape of the dive sites, temperatures and fauna. The waters near the islands will give you the chance to swim with sea lions, watch mantas, look out for flounders and perhaps even dodge the hungry nibbles of a Blue Footed Booby, diving for its mid-morning snack.

2) Water Temperatures
The range of surface temperature of the sea is from 18ºC to 30ºC. September to November are the coldest months, and February to April the warmest. Thermoclines are present, between 10 to 30 meters depth ( 30 to 100 feet) and the temperature can drop from one to five degrees Celsius. Galapagos Islands scuba diving shops will supply divers with wet suits and appropriate gear for the temperatures.

3) Currents
As mentioned before, you’ll find medium to strong currents. Medium currents are between one and three knots (between 1 and 4 miles/hour or between 2 and 6 kilometers/hour), and strong currents are more than three knots (more than 4 miles/hour or 6 km/hour).

Galapagos diving can be tricky if you are caught in an unexpected current on the surface. Divers should relax, get positive buoyancy and call the boat. If you are in a group, get close together. In the garúa season (from July to December) the Humboldt Current coming from the southeast is present. In the warm season (from January to June) the Panama Current from the northeast arrives in the Galapagos.

4) Visibilities
You’ll find top visibility here. One hundred feet (30 meters) is often present in the Galapagos waters. You shall expect a visibility from 50 to 80 feet or 15 to 25 meters in most places. In some areas and in some seasons due to the richness of phytoplankton, green waters are present. This algae is the first step in the trophic chain and is necessary to sustain all marine life at the islands.

5) Drift Diving
Many of the Galapagos Islands dives are drift dives. The group will enter and will be drifted down current. During your dive the boat will follow the bubbles and will pick you up in the place you appear at the surface. Safety stops are often made in blue waters, away from a wall or bottom.

6) Deep Diving
More than 20 meters (60 feet) is considered a deep dive. Consider the possible thermocline and expect temperatures to be cold, use sufficient thermal protection. Often dives in the Galápagos are deep and wall dives, making Galapagos diving more complicated.

7) Night Diving
You can enjoy a shallow night dive with no drift. Your guide will select a safe place for the night dive with no current. Nocturnal crabs, starfish, sea cucumbers, fish, and other different species are visible at night, and it is common to find fluorescence in the first six meters. One of the best dives can be a fluorescent night dive with turtles, fur seals and other animals which cam be seen with the lamp turned off.

Next Page: M/V Galapagos Explorer II

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